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Robert J. Barrera: Practicing Out of His Father’s Firm for Four Decades

Bobby Barrera didn’t start his own firm from scratch — he joined Nicholas & Barrera, his father’s practice, in 1986 after a stint as a Bexar County prosecutor. This San Antonio criminal defense attorney has now practiced criminal defense in the same city for more than 40 years, a family legal legacy spanning two generations.

At a Glance: San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney Overview

Origin & Background: A San Antonio Criminal Defense Attorney Since 1984

Robert “Bobby” Barrera graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1983 (with licensure in 1984) after earning his B.A. from the same university in 1980. He began his legal career as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney for Bexar County, prosecuting a wide range of cases and developing courtroom and negotiation experience from the state’s side of the docket. In 1986, he transitioned to private practice within his father’s firm, Nicholas & Barrera, where he has built his criminal defense career over the four decades since.

Practice Concentration

Per Barrera’s own Avvo practice-area breakdown, his caseload spans criminal defense, DWI/DWI, and domestic violence in roughly equal measure (20% each), with federal crime, sex crime, and violent crime cases each making up about 10%, and smaller shares of family law and white collar work. He handles matters in both Texas state and federal courts, including the Western District of Texas, the Southern District/Bankruptcy Court, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Notable Work

The firm does not publish a structured, itemized case-results table with individual outcomes. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case, and this gap in a published results table is disclosed directly rather than papered over.

Client Voice

Barrera holds a 5.0-star rating across multiple review sets on Avvo (6 reviews at one listed office, 3 at another, both perfect scores). One client wrote, “I am a free woman because of him,” describing Barrera as someone who “gave his honest opinion about every decision I made about my case” and “spoke to me like a friend.” Another client, describing a criminal defense matter, called him “the best attorney that has ever represented me,” specifically citing his honest opinions throughout the case. A family law client separately praised his handling of “a highly contentious divorce involving children,” noting he “always kept my kids’ best interests first” — indicating consistent client satisfaction across both his criminal and family law work. No negative reviews of substance were located during this research.

Beyond the Courtroom

Barrera served as a Director of the San Antonio Bar Association from 1992 to 1997, a multi-year institutional leadership role within the local bar rather than a one-time appointment. He is also a member of the Catholic Lawyers Guild and the Texas Cavaliers, a San Antonio civic and cultural organization.

Recognition

No Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification for Barrera was confirmed in available public materials, and this profile does not use “specialist” language for him as a result — a distinction worth noting directly, since several other Bexar County criminal defense attorneys in this directory do hold that state-administered credential. Barrera holds Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating, its highest peer-review distinction, and has been named among “San Antonio’s Best Criminal Lawyers” by SA Scene Magazine for 18 consecutive years, along with a “Top Ten Criminal Defense Lawyers” peer recognition in 2013 and a Super Lawyers rating in Criminal Law. These are peer-review and publication-based recognitions rather than state board certification.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas DWI is governed by Texas Penal Code Chapter 49; a first offense is generally a Class B misdemeanor, escalating to a Class A misdemeanor with a prior conviction, an open container, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 or above, and to a felony with a third conviction or a child under 15 in the vehicle. Domestic violence-related charges — a significant part of Barrera’s practice — fall under Texas Penal Code Chapter 22 (Assault), with “family violence” findings carrying consequences under the Texas Family Code beyond the criminal case itself, including protective order proceedings on a separate civil track. This is general background information, not legal advice, and does not account for the specific facts of any case.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

As a San Antonio criminal defense attorney, Barrera’s forty-one years of continuous practice in the same city, an AV Preeminent peer rating, and 18 consecutive years of “Best Criminal Lawyers” recognition from the same local publication together reflect sustained, independently-verified community standing rather than a recent marketing push. Consistently perfect review scores across multiple review sets, with specific, detailed client accounts rather than generic praise, reinforce that reputation.

The honest gap: Barrera does not hold Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification, a credential several other Bexar County criminal defense and DWI attorneys in this directory carry, so his credibility case rests on decades of sustained peer and publication recognition rather than a state board credential. His practice also spans family law alongside criminal defense — a genuinely broader caseload than a single-focus DWI or criminal boutique — so a prospective client should confirm his current availability and specific recent experience with their particular charge type in an initial consultation.

Methodology & Sourcing

This profile was compiled from Avvo’s attorney profile, reviews, and practice-area breakdown for Robert J. Barrera (across two listed office locations), Martindale’s attorney profile, Lawyers.com’s Martindale-Avvo-sourced biography and peer-review information, and Lawful.com’s independent firm directory listing.

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independently researched legal directory. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by the Law Office of Robert J. Barrera, P.C. prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to firms profiled on this site, but sponsorship status has no bearing on editorial content, and inclusion in this directory is not an endorsement of any firm for any particular legal matter. Nothing in this profile constitutes legal advice or a lawyer referral; readers with a legal question should consult a licensed Texas attorney directly.